11/15/02

No. 4 Texas defeats Georgia at MSG

» Boxscore

	T.J. Ford

NEW YORK (AP) -- T.J. Ford matched his career high with 22 points and had eight assists as No. 4 Texas overcame a 10-point second-half deficit to beat No. 16 Georgia 77-71 Friday night in the Coaches vs. Cancer Classic.

Ford, who became the first freshman to lead the nation in assists when he averaged 8.3 last season, doubled his 10.8 scoring average from last season, and the Longhorns saved the Big 12 Conference from a rough two days at Madison Square Garden at the expense of the Southeastern Conference.

On Thursday night, No. 8 Alabama beat No. 3 Oklahoma 68-62 in the first matchup between the leagues. It didn't look very good for Texas when Georgia scored the first six points of the second half to take a 46-36 lead.

Brandon Mouton had seven points in Texas' 15-2 run that put the Longhorns ahead 51-48. Texas also got some good team defense and unexpected offense from Deginald Erskin, who had 10 of his 12 points in the second half. Erskin's personal six-point run gave the Longhorns a 68-58 lead with 6:40 to play.

Georgia, which was playing without two of its best inside players — Chris Daniels was suspended for one game by the NCAA (news - web sites), Steve Thomas three games by the school — got to 71-69 on a 3-pointer by Ezra Williams with 55 seconds to go.

Ford then dribbled out most of the shot clock before driving through three Georgia players to score and make it 73-69 with 29 seconds left.

	James Thomas and Deginald Erskin

Rashad Wright made two free throws to get the Bulldogs back within two, but Mouton went 4-for-4 from the line over the final 16 seconds to seal the win.

Mouton finished with 13 points.

Williams led Georgia with 20 points, while Damien Wilkins, a transfer from North Carolina State playing his first game with the Bulldogs, had 16 and Wright 15. Jarvis Hayes, the SEC's leading scorer last season, finished with eight points — 10 below his average last season.

Just three minutes into the game, Wilkins turned to attempt a 3-pointer as the shot clock expired, and the 5-foot-10 Ford came at him, flying over the 6-7 Wilkins and crashing to the floor.

Madison Square Garden got quiet and the Texas fans went silent as Ford stayed on the court for a couple of minutes before getting up. He left the game but returned about three minutes later.

The two-day, eight-team event is sponsored by AT&T Wireless.